Stutzman to stand trial Nov. 3

VISTA — A sex offender parolee was ordered to stand trial at a hearing Oct. 19 on charges he raped two young women and kidnapped one of them overnight before dropping her off at the apartment complex where he and both victims lived.
San Diego County Superior Court Judge K. Michael Kirkman made a finding of probable cause that Jeremy Ryan Stutzman, 33, committed the acts of violene last May at a South Santa Fe Drive apartment complex, and his charges include 11 felonies.
An arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 3, when a trial date is expected to be set.
Stutzman faces 225 years to life in prison, prosecutor Patrick Espinoza said.
“He could reach 300 years to life if the non-sex crimes (sentences) were to be run consecutive,” he said.
Two of the non-sex crimes Stutzman is charged with are assault with a deadly weapon and robbery.
Stutzman allegedly kidnapped one of the victims in her vehicle.
During a 16-hour manhunt before authorities located him, a lieutenant said Stutzman was on a parole hold for a sexual assault and was also believed to be armed with a large hunting-type knife.
The female victims were 19 and 20 years old when the assaults took place.
Prior to the attacks, Stutzman had recently moved into the apartment beneath one of the victims, according to police.
Espinoza told the court at an earlier hearing that Stutzman also blindfolded, bound and gagged the two women.
“At one point, one young lady’s hands were bound to a shower curtain rail,” he said.
Stutzman is on the Megan’s Law website for the crime of sexual battery, and he is described an American Indian, 6-foot-1, 192 pounds, born Feb. 17, 1978.